Development of Electrochemical Standards for Corrosion Testing

Although the understanding that corrosion is an electrochemical process has been known for almost a century, the exploitation of electrochemical techniques for corrosion testing has largely occurred in the past four decades. The development of standard conventions in ASTM G 3 and calculation procedures in ASTM G 102 have stimulated the development of electrochemical test methods. The development of reference test methods G 5, G 59, G 61, G 100, and G 106 that allow the verification of both equipment and procedures has been an important contribution to the development and expansion of these test methods. The availability of reliable electrometers, potentiostatic power supplies and recording equipment has also made these methods simpler to use. This paper reviews the development of these standards and discusses three electrochemical test methods. It also outlines several areas for new standards development and provides ideas for improvements to existing standards.